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HomeNationHindus, Buddhist population declines, Muslims' increased by 0.8%, religion-based census data

Hindus, Buddhist population declines, Muslims’ increased by 0.8%, religion-based census data

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The latest census data on the population of religious groups, released by the Modi government on Tuesday, shows a 0.7 per cent decline in the Hindu population, while a growth of 0.8 per cent has been registered in the Muslim community.

The census has distributed the total population amongst six religions namely Hindu, Muslim, Christians, Sikh, Buddhist and Jains.

In 2011, total population was registered as – 121.09 crores, in which Hindus constituted 79.8 per cent, Muslims 14.2 per cent, Christians 2.3 per cent, Sikh 1.7 per cent, Buddhist 0.7 per cent and Jain 0.4 per cent.

According to the data released, the distribution of the total population has been made on six major religious communities namely, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain besides “Other Religions and Persuasions” and “Religion not stated”.

The data are released by sex and residence up to sub-districts and towns. Total population in 2011 is 121.09 crores; Hindu 96.63 crores (79.8%); Muslim 17.22 crores (14.2%); Christian 2.78 crores (2.3%); Sikh 2.08 crores (1.7%); Buddhist 0.84 crores (0.7%); Jain 0.45 crores (0.4%), Other Religions & Persuasions (ORP) 0.79 crores (0.7%) and Religion Not Stated 0.29 crores (0.2%).

Proportion

The proportion of Hindu population to total population in 2011 has declined by 0.7 percentage point (PP); the proportion of Sikh population has declined by 0.2 PP and the Buddhist population has declined by 0.1 PP during the decade 2001-2011.

The proportion of Muslim population to total population has increased by 0.8 PP. There has been no significant change in the proportion of Christians and Jains.

Growth Rate

The growth rate of population in the decade 2001-2011 was 17.7 %. The growth rate of population of the different religious communities in the same period was as Hindus: 16.8%; Muslim: 24.6%; Christian: 15.5%; Sikh: 8.4%; Buddhist: 6.1% and Jain: 5.4%.

Earlier, the government used to provide religion-wise break-up of population data. However, the practice was discontinued in 2011 because of a controversy that followed the 2001 Census, which showed a relatively high growth of Muslim population primarily on account of the inclusion of Jammu and Kashmir.

The comparison was skewed because the militancy-hit state was not covered in the headcount for 1991.

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